Uttarakhand police issued a public statement stating that Narsinghanand has been arrested in connection with a case pertaining to derogatory remarks against women.  

Lucknow: Yati Narsinghanand - one of the religious leaders who organised an event – ‘Dharam Sansad’ in Haridwar last month that called for the genocide of Muslims, was arrested by the Haridwar police. This is the second arrest made by the Uttarakhand police in the hate speech case after the intervention of the Supreme Court.

Yati Narsinghanand Giri (formerly Saraswati), militant Hindutva leader and mahamandaleshwar at the Juna Akhara has been arrested in Haridwar, according to Haridwar City SP Swatantra Kumar.

Uttarakhand police issued a public statement stating that Narsinghanand has been arrested in connection with a case pertaining to derogatory remarks against women.

Narsinghanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, was on a hunger strike at Sarvanand Ghat in Haridwar protesting against the arrest of Tyagi. Calling it “injustice,” he had raised questions about the police action against Tyagi. “He was arrested because he was once a Muslim who converted to Hinduism. This is so that no other Muslim converts to Hinduism,” Narsinghanand had claimed.

Also read: Haridwar hate speech: Jitendra Narayan Tyagi arrested in Dharam Sansad case

Narsinghanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, was among the organisers of the event at Haridwar. He has often been in the news for provocative statements against certain communities.

Rizvi, who converted to Hinduism and now calls himself Jitendra Tyagi, was the first arrest in the case. A former chairman of the UP Central Shia Waqf Board, Rizvi was booked for promoting enmity on grounds of religion.

Narsinghanand is among more than 10 people named in the FIRs lodged over speeches that called for genocide and the use of arms against Muslims. Besides him and Tyagi, the police have also taken an interest in another religious leader Sadhvi Annapurna under immense pressure.

According to sources, Narsinghanand had an “altercation” with a journalist who was allegedly manhandled. A senior police official said that based on the journalist’s complaint, another FIR was registered against Narsinghanand.